Loyola grinds out 1-0 win at Marmion
Junior defender Birmingham gets spot start, game-winner
By Dave Owen
AURORA – Neither a long road trip, the absence of two key defenders, playing on a grass field nor the fierce second half offensive pressure of Marmion was going to knock Loyola off track Thursday.
When all factors had played out shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, the Ramblers (5-5-4, 3-0-1 in the CCL Blue) had emerged with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Marmion (5-6-5, 1-2-2).
Thanks to the victory, Loyola will now head into a battle of unbeatens Tuesday at St. Laurence (11-2-4, 1-0-4). The Ramblers will close conference play with St. Ignatius on Oct. 11 when the teams resume a scoreless game that was halted due to bad weather Sept. 20.
“It's very important (for conference),” Loyola goalkeeper Jason Brunger said of the win Thursday. “We came off a draw in our last game (with Mount Carmel), and we had two wins before that. So, we're pretty confident right now. We're all feeling good.”
The pregame prognosis was not as good for the Ramblers, who played without injured defenders/co-captains Clinton Birchard and Andrew Newton.
Add on a 45-mile bus trip, a delayed arrival and an unfamiliar field, not to mention a talented foe in Marmion, and the obstacles were many.
“I told the boys this was not our best game played,” Loyola coach Dan Riskind said. “I think the grass was an issue, and the timing was an issue. We usually knock it around (in pregame) and we didn’t have much time to knock it around (Thursday).
“And it's a very small field (at Marmion), and I don't think we adapted to it well.”
But players like junior defender Dan Birmingham adapted very well to playing bigger roles.
In the starting lineup due to the two injuries, Birmingham provided what would be the difference in the game 1 minute, 26 seconds before halftime.
After Kwame Boateng and Cooper Ahlfors teamed up to win a ball at midfield, Guillermo Echevarria-Robinson’s ensuing left-side run and shot resulted in a shot block and Loyola corner kick.
On the corner, Townes Robertson launched the right-side restart towards the top of the box. There, James Collins’ 15-yard shot was redirected in front by Birmingham from six yards to low inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.
“I was supposed to be on the keeper, and it just came to me,” Birmingham said. “It ended up working out.”
As did all the other challenges the Ramblers faced.
“The field wasn't the best, the grass,” Birmingham said. “And it was a little bit narrow, so we had to play with that. There was a lot of kicking it forward and running. We had to be really careful with all our passes (on the grass), way more careful than normal.”
Loyola actually started out well, with the majority of early chances before Marmion took the edge in pressure later.
Nice defensive plays in the first 11 minutes by Marmion’s Ricardo Saucedo (denying a Joey Vehovsky attack) and Roberto Rubio (a sliding deflection away on a later Loyola rush) thwarted the Ramblers.
In the 18th minute, Marmion's Gio Magana put a liner over the net. That was followed in the next four minutes by dueling saves by Marmion’s Adam Ozsvath (a 40-yard Olivier Szorc free kick) and Brunger (on a Matthew Powell left-side try).
Ozsvath came up big with a diving save 10:15 before halftime, when Birmingham’s offensive end throw-in led to a Echevarria-Robinson header snared at the left post by the keeper.
Then after a Marmion rush in the 35th minute resulted in a Harley Karner shot wide, the Ramblers’ set piece in the final 90 seconds produced the final score.
“We just made one mistake to close out the first half, when we lost a man on a corner kick,” Marmion senior Powell said. “We had opportunities to finish, and we just couldn't stick it in the goal. We fought with them but just couldn't get the result.”
Marmion’s fight began to show just 30 seconds after the goal, when Rubio sent a shot wide. Then a Loyola attack in the final seconds produced a Luke Ojala cross to the front that Marmion’s Diego Tellez blocked and Mactzil Uriel Lopez cleared.
The host Cadets set the tone for their offensive second half with two chances in the first 2:45 after the break, including a corner kick nicely cleared to midfield by Loyola’s Robertson.
Good 1-v-1 defense by Dan Ryczek denied another Marmion threat with 35:30 left, as the Ramblers continued a season-long trend of strong defense.
“It's been a great defensive year,” Brunger said. “I have so much confidence in my backline. Honestly I think we have one of the best backlines in the state.
“And we have two of our starting backs out with injuries right now, so overall today was a great performance by the boys, and I think going forward we'll be even better.
“We have a few young guys (as defenders) coming in as juniors who are really good at their positions. We have good squad depth, and I have confidence in them.”
Loyola’s offense tried to ease the burden on the defense with 31:20 left. A Szorc corner kick was nicely redirected near post by sprinting teammate Liam Drehkoff, but Ozsvath came up big with a block save and control near the crossbar.
A long possession by Loyola with 27:30 left nearly led to a goal. After a series of passes to open space, Ojala sent a cross to the front that Echevarria-Robinson headed just over the net.
Then with 24:40 to go, Marmion’s Barry O’Neill was fouled to draw the first of seven Cadets free kicks or corner kicks the remainder of the match.
O’Neill’s 22-yard top-of-the-box set piece went over the goal, and a Drehkoff block at the 25 stifled the next Marmion attack.
But perhaps the best Cadets bid to tie would follow with 19:30 left. And it led to Brunger’s best save of the day.
After a Karner shot was deflected wide for a corner kick, Magano’s corner send produced a Saucedo header from in front seemingly bound for a spot inside the right post. But Brunger lunged his left hand out to somehow deflect the shot wide.
“On those kinds of saves I don’t see the ball until it's 4 or 5 yards in front of me,” Brunger said. “Obviously I see it coming in on the cross, but I don't see where it's going to go until it deflects off someone. It deflected again, and I just got a fingertip on it past the post.”
Whether with the seemingly routine save or the amazing, Brunger has been key to Loyola’s seven shutouts this fall.
“He's played great for us all season,” Riskind said. “Our goals against average is below one. Again, we got a clean-sheet, and we've won a lot of games 1-0. We depend on him a lot.”
And in front of their keeper, the Loyola defense does its part.
“We're good at getting those headers out,” Birmingham said, “and long balls are very important. We play simple and never make the dangerous passes.”
The Ramblers’ set piece defense was again tested with 18:50 left, when Magano’s 20-yard free kick just missed Karner racing in toward the post.
The run of play also produced stellar Loyola defense.
Magano’s left-side run with 13:20 on the clock was broken up on a textbook slide by Drehkoff, who both won and controlled the ball. He rose after the steal and sent the ball upfield.
But Marmion was relentless. Off a Powell throw-in and Tellez chip to the crease with 11:15 left, Brunger came off his line to just beat O’Neill to the ball.
Another dangerous free kick followed at 10:05 when Powell was fouled just outside the box, but Magana’s 20-yard drive went just wide of the upper-left corner.
A 40-yard Magana free kick with 8:45 to go created more havoc, as a Birmingham header away and a subsequent block of Powell’s 10-yard rebound try were needed to keep the score 1-0.
“They (Loyola) were able to convert on an opportunity, and we were not,” Marmion coach Gerardo Alvarez said. “I think we had seven, clear opportunities to score and converted zero. That makes it tough.”
Things got tougher for the Cadets with 5:44 left, when Loyola’s Robertson nicely won a ball on the sideline in his defensive end and was upended on a sliding tackle from behind.
With a delivery befitting a role on NCIS, the official yelled “Your day is done” as he flashed a red card at the tackler that left Marmion one man down the rest of the way.
From there, Loyola dominated time of possession, but Marmion’s last threat, even shorthanded, would be a very good one.
O’Neill was fouled with 2:05 to play. Magana’s ensuing 25-yard free kick fund Uriel Lopez for a header, but Brunger was again up to the task with a diving catch.
“I think we had some better opportunities, especially toward the end,” Alvarez said. “We lost our mark on the set piece, and they capitalized. We had several opportunities on our set pieces and couldn't capitalize. And that's the difference in the game.”
Riskind credited his team for its endurance under pressure.
“I told the boys it was a gritty game,” Riskind said. “We've had some losses where we lost in the last three minutes, and we stuck it out this time.”
Loyola’s depth also helped make it happen. One example was Boateng, who came off the bench for a late-game stretch and delivered a nice sliding play to win possession and set up a Ramblers offensive end throw-in.
“In practice every day we switch up teams,” Brunger said of the Ramblers’ depth. “It’s never the same teams, always a mix. So we all get the same repetitions. I think that's great.”
Marmion’s depth has also been tested to high levels this fall.
“We've been dealing with a lot of different things this year in terms of not having players available to play,” Alvarez said. “There's been one game only all year we've played unencumbered.
“Alvaro our starting defensive mid didn't play our first five or six games. Gio and Mactzil our starting center back didn't play the first three or four games, so those are key guys that we missed. But at the same time, some guys got an opportunity to play and got experience, and I think that's going to benefit us down the stretch.
“But it’s been a tough year, and it's hard to get a rhythm,” Alvarez added. “Every game we have someone else to add to the mix so we have to change the way we play.
“This time last year we knew what we were and who we were. I feel like we're getting closer to that, and we'll find it before the postseason. It's just taking us a lot longer than I hoped.”
Yet after a 1-3-0 start, the Cadets have endured and improved.
“The last 12 games, we've led in eight of them,” Alvarez said.
Thursday’s 1-0 loss aside, players like Powell have seen the progress and expect more to come.
“We've been going on the right path the whole season,” Powell said, “and starting to come together. Hopefully that can pay off in the postseason.
“We've been able to work from the back more. We've been sounder, our defense has been getting better. We just need to start finishing our opportunities we create and we can go far in the postseason.”
With another win, Loyola also has confidence on a rapid climb.
“That’s three wins and one tie (in the past week),” Riskind said. “We just have to stay focused. We just focus on the process, and see if we can replicate it in these (next) games.”
The process that first-year coach Riskind has installed has led to steady progress.
“I feel with tactics he's great,” Brunger said of Riskind, “and he’s reinforcing them every day in practice. We started off a little bit shaky (an early 1-3-1 record) but we're starting to get our feet back. And now we're a really solid team.”
Starting lineups
Loyola (5-5-4, 3-0-1)
GK: Jason Brunger
D: Liam Drehkoff
D: Dan Birmingham
D: Dan Ryczek
D: Townes Robertson
M: Jack McBrearty
M: Olivier Szorc
M: Luke Ojala
M: Guillermo Echevarria-Robinson
M: Cooper Ahlfors
F: Joey Vehovsky
Marmion (5-6-5, 1-2-2)
GK: Adam Ozsvath
D: Matt Powell
D: Diego Tellez
D: Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D: Jordan Peinado
M: Ricardo Saucedo
M: Grayson Stewart
M: Gio Magana
M: Barry O’Neill
F: Roberto Rubio
F: Harley Karner
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jason Brunger, sr. GK, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola- Dan Birmingham (James Collins), 39’
Second half
No scoring
Junior defender Birmingham gets spot start, game-winner
By Dave Owen
AURORA – Neither a long road trip, the absence of two key defenders, playing on a grass field nor the fierce second half offensive pressure of Marmion was going to knock Loyola off track Thursday.
When all factors had played out shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, the Ramblers (5-5-4, 3-0-1 in the CCL Blue) had emerged with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Marmion (5-6-5, 1-2-2).
Thanks to the victory, Loyola will now head into a battle of unbeatens Tuesday at St. Laurence (11-2-4, 1-0-4). The Ramblers will close conference play with St. Ignatius on Oct. 11 when the teams resume a scoreless game that was halted due to bad weather Sept. 20.
“It's very important (for conference),” Loyola goalkeeper Jason Brunger said of the win Thursday. “We came off a draw in our last game (with Mount Carmel), and we had two wins before that. So, we're pretty confident right now. We're all feeling good.”
The pregame prognosis was not as good for the Ramblers, who played without injured defenders/co-captains Clinton Birchard and Andrew Newton.
Add on a 45-mile bus trip, a delayed arrival and an unfamiliar field, not to mention a talented foe in Marmion, and the obstacles were many.
“I told the boys this was not our best game played,” Loyola coach Dan Riskind said. “I think the grass was an issue, and the timing was an issue. We usually knock it around (in pregame) and we didn’t have much time to knock it around (Thursday).
“And it's a very small field (at Marmion), and I don't think we adapted to it well.”
But players like junior defender Dan Birmingham adapted very well to playing bigger roles.
In the starting lineup due to the two injuries, Birmingham provided what would be the difference in the game 1 minute, 26 seconds before halftime.
After Kwame Boateng and Cooper Ahlfors teamed up to win a ball at midfield, Guillermo Echevarria-Robinson’s ensuing left-side run and shot resulted in a shot block and Loyola corner kick.
On the corner, Townes Robertson launched the right-side restart towards the top of the box. There, James Collins’ 15-yard shot was redirected in front by Birmingham from six yards to low inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.
“I was supposed to be on the keeper, and it just came to me,” Birmingham said. “It ended up working out.”
As did all the other challenges the Ramblers faced.
“The field wasn't the best, the grass,” Birmingham said. “And it was a little bit narrow, so we had to play with that. There was a lot of kicking it forward and running. We had to be really careful with all our passes (on the grass), way more careful than normal.”
Loyola actually started out well, with the majority of early chances before Marmion took the edge in pressure later.
Nice defensive plays in the first 11 minutes by Marmion’s Ricardo Saucedo (denying a Joey Vehovsky attack) and Roberto Rubio (a sliding deflection away on a later Loyola rush) thwarted the Ramblers.
In the 18th minute, Marmion's Gio Magana put a liner over the net. That was followed in the next four minutes by dueling saves by Marmion’s Adam Ozsvath (a 40-yard Olivier Szorc free kick) and Brunger (on a Matthew Powell left-side try).
Ozsvath came up big with a diving save 10:15 before halftime, when Birmingham’s offensive end throw-in led to a Echevarria-Robinson header snared at the left post by the keeper.
Then after a Marmion rush in the 35th minute resulted in a Harley Karner shot wide, the Ramblers’ set piece in the final 90 seconds produced the final score.
“We just made one mistake to close out the first half, when we lost a man on a corner kick,” Marmion senior Powell said. “We had opportunities to finish, and we just couldn't stick it in the goal. We fought with them but just couldn't get the result.”
Marmion’s fight began to show just 30 seconds after the goal, when Rubio sent a shot wide. Then a Loyola attack in the final seconds produced a Luke Ojala cross to the front that Marmion’s Diego Tellez blocked and Mactzil Uriel Lopez cleared.
The host Cadets set the tone for their offensive second half with two chances in the first 2:45 after the break, including a corner kick nicely cleared to midfield by Loyola’s Robertson.
Good 1-v-1 defense by Dan Ryczek denied another Marmion threat with 35:30 left, as the Ramblers continued a season-long trend of strong defense.
“It's been a great defensive year,” Brunger said. “I have so much confidence in my backline. Honestly I think we have one of the best backlines in the state.
“And we have two of our starting backs out with injuries right now, so overall today was a great performance by the boys, and I think going forward we'll be even better.
“We have a few young guys (as defenders) coming in as juniors who are really good at their positions. We have good squad depth, and I have confidence in them.”
Loyola’s offense tried to ease the burden on the defense with 31:20 left. A Szorc corner kick was nicely redirected near post by sprinting teammate Liam Drehkoff, but Ozsvath came up big with a block save and control near the crossbar.
A long possession by Loyola with 27:30 left nearly led to a goal. After a series of passes to open space, Ojala sent a cross to the front that Echevarria-Robinson headed just over the net.
Then with 24:40 to go, Marmion’s Barry O’Neill was fouled to draw the first of seven Cadets free kicks or corner kicks the remainder of the match.
O’Neill’s 22-yard top-of-the-box set piece went over the goal, and a Drehkoff block at the 25 stifled the next Marmion attack.
But perhaps the best Cadets bid to tie would follow with 19:30 left. And it led to Brunger’s best save of the day.
After a Karner shot was deflected wide for a corner kick, Magano’s corner send produced a Saucedo header from in front seemingly bound for a spot inside the right post. But Brunger lunged his left hand out to somehow deflect the shot wide.
“On those kinds of saves I don’t see the ball until it's 4 or 5 yards in front of me,” Brunger said. “Obviously I see it coming in on the cross, but I don't see where it's going to go until it deflects off someone. It deflected again, and I just got a fingertip on it past the post.”
Whether with the seemingly routine save or the amazing, Brunger has been key to Loyola’s seven shutouts this fall.
“He's played great for us all season,” Riskind said. “Our goals against average is below one. Again, we got a clean-sheet, and we've won a lot of games 1-0. We depend on him a lot.”
And in front of their keeper, the Loyola defense does its part.
“We're good at getting those headers out,” Birmingham said, “and long balls are very important. We play simple and never make the dangerous passes.”
The Ramblers’ set piece defense was again tested with 18:50 left, when Magano’s 20-yard free kick just missed Karner racing in toward the post.
The run of play also produced stellar Loyola defense.
Magano’s left-side run with 13:20 on the clock was broken up on a textbook slide by Drehkoff, who both won and controlled the ball. He rose after the steal and sent the ball upfield.
But Marmion was relentless. Off a Powell throw-in and Tellez chip to the crease with 11:15 left, Brunger came off his line to just beat O’Neill to the ball.
Another dangerous free kick followed at 10:05 when Powell was fouled just outside the box, but Magana’s 20-yard drive went just wide of the upper-left corner.
A 40-yard Magana free kick with 8:45 to go created more havoc, as a Birmingham header away and a subsequent block of Powell’s 10-yard rebound try were needed to keep the score 1-0.
“They (Loyola) were able to convert on an opportunity, and we were not,” Marmion coach Gerardo Alvarez said. “I think we had seven, clear opportunities to score and converted zero. That makes it tough.”
Things got tougher for the Cadets with 5:44 left, when Loyola’s Robertson nicely won a ball on the sideline in his defensive end and was upended on a sliding tackle from behind.
With a delivery befitting a role on NCIS, the official yelled “Your day is done” as he flashed a red card at the tackler that left Marmion one man down the rest of the way.
From there, Loyola dominated time of possession, but Marmion’s last threat, even shorthanded, would be a very good one.
O’Neill was fouled with 2:05 to play. Magana’s ensuing 25-yard free kick fund Uriel Lopez for a header, but Brunger was again up to the task with a diving catch.
“I think we had some better opportunities, especially toward the end,” Alvarez said. “We lost our mark on the set piece, and they capitalized. We had several opportunities on our set pieces and couldn't capitalize. And that's the difference in the game.”
Riskind credited his team for its endurance under pressure.
“I told the boys it was a gritty game,” Riskind said. “We've had some losses where we lost in the last three minutes, and we stuck it out this time.”
Loyola’s depth also helped make it happen. One example was Boateng, who came off the bench for a late-game stretch and delivered a nice sliding play to win possession and set up a Ramblers offensive end throw-in.
“In practice every day we switch up teams,” Brunger said of the Ramblers’ depth. “It’s never the same teams, always a mix. So we all get the same repetitions. I think that's great.”
Marmion’s depth has also been tested to high levels this fall.
“We've been dealing with a lot of different things this year in terms of not having players available to play,” Alvarez said. “There's been one game only all year we've played unencumbered.
“Alvaro our starting defensive mid didn't play our first five or six games. Gio and Mactzil our starting center back didn't play the first three or four games, so those are key guys that we missed. But at the same time, some guys got an opportunity to play and got experience, and I think that's going to benefit us down the stretch.
“But it’s been a tough year, and it's hard to get a rhythm,” Alvarez added. “Every game we have someone else to add to the mix so we have to change the way we play.
“This time last year we knew what we were and who we were. I feel like we're getting closer to that, and we'll find it before the postseason. It's just taking us a lot longer than I hoped.”
Yet after a 1-3-0 start, the Cadets have endured and improved.
“The last 12 games, we've led in eight of them,” Alvarez said.
Thursday’s 1-0 loss aside, players like Powell have seen the progress and expect more to come.
“We've been going on the right path the whole season,” Powell said, “and starting to come together. Hopefully that can pay off in the postseason.
“We've been able to work from the back more. We've been sounder, our defense has been getting better. We just need to start finishing our opportunities we create and we can go far in the postseason.”
With another win, Loyola also has confidence on a rapid climb.
“That’s three wins and one tie (in the past week),” Riskind said. “We just have to stay focused. We just focus on the process, and see if we can replicate it in these (next) games.”
The process that first-year coach Riskind has installed has led to steady progress.
“I feel with tactics he's great,” Brunger said of Riskind, “and he’s reinforcing them every day in practice. We started off a little bit shaky (an early 1-3-1 record) but we're starting to get our feet back. And now we're a really solid team.”
Starting lineups
Loyola (5-5-4, 3-0-1)
GK: Jason Brunger
D: Liam Drehkoff
D: Dan Birmingham
D: Dan Ryczek
D: Townes Robertson
M: Jack McBrearty
M: Olivier Szorc
M: Luke Ojala
M: Guillermo Echevarria-Robinson
M: Cooper Ahlfors
F: Joey Vehovsky
Marmion (5-6-5, 1-2-2)
GK: Adam Ozsvath
D: Matt Powell
D: Diego Tellez
D: Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D: Jordan Peinado
M: Ricardo Saucedo
M: Grayson Stewart
M: Gio Magana
M: Barry O’Neill
F: Roberto Rubio
F: Harley Karner
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jason Brunger, sr. GK, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola- Dan Birmingham (James Collins), 39’
Second half
No scoring